Golf Mat

ABSTRACT

A golf mat includes artificial grass fibers attached to and extending upward from a backing material, which may be one or more layers. The artificial grass fibers include groups of at least two different kinds of fiber sewn through a common path in the backing material. One of the kinds of fibers in each group is shaped so as to appear like a blade of grass. The other kind of fiber in each group is pre-stressed/crimped so that the relaxed shape of the fiber is nonlinear, resembling a curlicued or articulated form having lateral excursions. The lateral excursions cause portions of one such pre-stressed fiber to overlap and interfere with another, forming a mesh. The height of the pre-stressed fibers in their relaxed state in the turf is less than the height of the relatively unstressed artificial grass fiber(s). The crimped fibers form a resilient mat with impact characteristics similar to natural turf.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/733,806 filed Dec. 10, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to golf mats, and moreparticularly to a golf mat having an artificial turf including aplurality of groups of fibers, each group including both non-linearfibers and substantially straight fibers sewn into a backing through acommon opening, and having infill particles adhered to the non-linearfibers and lower portions of the straight fibers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Golf mats for use as a practice playing surface are most effective ifthey simulate the feel of natural turf. A variety of mat constructionshave been designed for this purpose. U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,396 uses arelatively thick base pad of resilient material (foam rubber), and anartificial grass-like carpet that is slidably positioned on the base soas to absorb club force, which is more like a natural turf than arigidly mounted carpet.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,080 by Reynolds discloses a turf simulating surfaceincluding a grass-like carpet layer placed over layers of material, eachlayer designed to simulate the shock absorbing nature of correspondinglayers of soil.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,853 by Tomarin, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,079 by Haas,Jr. also include layers of shock absorbing material beneath a grasssimulating carpet. They also place granules, such as sand and/or rubberparticles, covering/coating a lower portion of the grass-like carpet,giving support for the grass-like fibers and simulating the effect ofsoil. A disadvantage of the loose infill covering/coating in a golf matis that it is displaced when impacted by a club head, which can resultin undesirable variations in the infill depth, and air-born particlesthat can be irritating to the golfer.

SUMMARY

It is an advantage of this invention in that it provides a golf playingsurface having an improved stability.

It is a further advantage of this invention in that it provides a golfmat with improved durability.

It is a still further advantage of this invention in providing a golfmat wherein a club stroke does not bottom out in the mat.

It is another advantage of this invention in providing a golf mat withimproved shock absorption when a club head strikes the mat.

It is another advantage of this invention in that it provides a golf matthat will hold a golf ball tee without drilling a hole in the mat.

In one embodiment of this invention, a golf mat includes artificialgrass fibers attached to and extending upward from a backing material,which may be one or more layers. The artificial grass fibers includegroups of at least two different kinds of fiber sewn through a commonpath in the backing material. One of the kinds of fibers in each groupis shaped so as to appear like a blade of grass. The other kind of fiberin each group is pre-stressed/crimped so that the relaxed shape of thefiber is nonlinear, resembling a curlicued or articulated form havinglateral excursions. The lateral excursions cause portions of one suchpre-stressed fiber to overlap and interfere with another, forming amesh. The height of the pre-stressed fibers in their relaxed state inthe turf is less than the height of the relatively unstressed artificialgrass fiber(s). The crimped fibers form a resilient mat with impactcharacteristics similar to natural turf.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a golf mat formed with artificial turf according tothe present invention;

FIG. 1B is an enlargened view of a portion of FIG. 1A configured forillustrating the construction of the mat of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 illustrates a golf tee held by the golf mat;

FIG. 3 illustrates two fibers through one needle, and fiber tension;

FIG. 4A shows one type of artificial grass fiber construction; and

FIG. 4B shows the fiber of FIG. 4A rolled up.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the present invention will be described herein with reference toparticular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modifications, variouschanges and substitutions are intended, and it will be appreciated thatin some instances some features of the invention will be employedwithout a corresponding use of other features without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as described with respect to thepreferred embodiments set forth herein.

A golf mat 10 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1A, havingartificial turf 11. FIG. 1B is an enlargened view of a section “A” ofthe mat of FIG. 1A for illustrating the construction of the artificialturf 11, and also showing alternative base layers 13 which can be of anynumber, thickness and resiliency. The artificial turf 11 includes abacking material 12 with two different kinds of fiber 14 and 16 sewninto it. Groups of fibers, each group including at least one grass-likefiber 14 and one non-linear fiber 16 pass through the same passages 18through the backing 12. Fiber 14 is an artificial grass blade that canbe constructed in a number of ways to give the turf a grass-likeappearance. Fiber 16 is pre-stressed into a non-linear shape. The tops20 and 22 of the fibers are cut, forming cut ends, and thereby forming a“cut fiber” carpet/artificial turf, resulting in the fiber 14 appearinggrass-like. The fibers 14 are relatively un-stressed and have only minordeviations from linearity, similar to a linear/straight grass bladeappearance. Fibers 16 are pre-stressed prior to being sewn into thebacking 12, and upon being sewn into the backing 12 and released fromthe sewing machine, they return to a non-linear shape. The sewingmachine applies tension to the fiber 16, holding it in a linear shape asit is sewn. Once released by the sewing machine, the fibers 16 retractinto their pre-stressed non-linear shape, causing them to form a mesh offibers at a level below that of the straight fibers 14 as shown inFIG. 1. In this way, the fiber mesh including a lower portion of thefibers 14 and the fibers 16 resembles grass thatch. The golf mattherefore provides a resistance that is similar to natural grass turfwhen a golf club head impacts the mat. The club head first impacts thetaller, grass-like fiber portions that extend above the height of thenon-linear fibers 16. These portions provide resistance to the club headin a similar manner to natural grass. If the upper portion of grass-likefibers 14 does not stop the club head, the head then impacts the mesh,consisting of lower portions of the fibers 14 and the non-linear fibers16, which provides further resistance to the club head, similar to aclub head hitting the thatch in natural turf. The non-linear fibers 16have lateral excursions, for example as indicated by the letters “x” forone fiber 16 in FIG. 1B. FIG. 1B shows 10 groups, such as group 17 offibers, with each group of fibers sewn through a common path 18 throughthe backing 12. The fibers 16 and group spacing “S” are configured sothat the lateral excursion of one such fiber 16 of one group overlapsthe lateral excursion of a fiber 16 from an adjacent group, and forms amesh of overlapping fibers 16. For example, note that the excursion offiber 16A of one group overlaps the excursion of fiber 16B from anadjacent group. The height of the installed non-linear fibers 16 isnoted as “H₂” which is less than the height H₁ of the grass-like fibers.A preferred height H₁ is ⅞ inch, and a preferred range of H₁ is from ⅞″to 3″ A preferred height of H₂ is ⅝ inch, and a preferred range of H₁ isfrom ⅝″ to 2½″ For the golf mat as disclosed, the fibers are preferablysewn with a stitch spacing S in the range of 0.350″ to 0.375″ with apreferred spacing of 0.350″, but other values of S are also included inthe present invention. The combination of the grass-like fibers 14 andnon-linear fibers 16 provides a shock absorbing and somewhat resilientlayer, similar to that experienced on natural turf which generally has alayer of shock absorbent thatch. The tufted carpet/golf mat shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B as described includes the fibers 14 and 16 which areyarns/threads of synthetic material such as polypropylene, polyethylene,nylon or other synthetic yarns. The structure of FIGS. 1A and 1B is animprovement over the prior art in that it is more durable, is moregrass-like in appearance and structure, and provides more cushion.Although two different yarns/fibers are shown sewn through commonopenings in the backing 12, the present invention also includes othernumbers of yarn/fibers sewn through common openings. The fibers/yarn canhave different constructions, denier, twist, and crimp. The golf matshown is rectangular, but it can be of any shape, including square,octagonal, rectangular, etc. The method of construction of the golf mat10 differs from the prior art in that it is sewn with multiple yarnsthrough a single needle eye. This will be illustrated more clearly inreference to FIG. 3.

The layer of height H₂ including the crimped/non-linear fibers 16 formsa cushion resembling natural grass thatch, and reduces shock and resistsbottoming out of a golf club stroke. This reduced shock and resistanceto bottoming out is a significant improvement over artificial turfhaving only fibers similar to the grass-like fibers 14.

Another useful feature/embodiment of the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 2, wherein a golf mat 26 constructed as describedabove, has a lower, more dense portion 27 with fibers including both thestraight 14 and crimped 16 fibers, that is sufficiently dense so as tohold a golf tee 28 erect with a golf ball 30 thereon as shown. Apreferred height H₁ of the grass-like fibers is approximately ⅞ inch,with a preferred height range of ⅞″ to 3″. A preferred height range ofH₂ of the crimped fibers is ⅝ inch, with a preferred range of ⅝″ to 2½″.A preferred weight of the mat, not including alternative layers 13, isin the range of 60 to 90 ounces per square yard. The structure shown inFIG. 2 avoids the need for prior art structures such as drilling a holein the mat for holding a golf tee, or using a vertical rubber tube forsimulating a golf tee.

During the sewing process, fibers 14 and 16 are both threaded togetherthrough the same sewing machine needle passages, and therefore passthrough the same passages 18 through the backing through which theneedle is inserted. Axial/longitudinal tension is provided on the fibers14 and 16 by the sewing machine, which keeps both fibers 14 and 16 in acontrolled/tensioned line, and most importantly, fibers 16 are held inan uncrimped, straight line. Upon being sewn into the backing 12, thetension on fiber 16 is released and it returns to itspre-stressed/crimped condition, that could be described as curlicued.

In one embodiment, the fibers 14 are constructed of polyethylene andfibers 16 of nylon. The polyethylene has a slick surface similar to agrass blade, which provides comparable resistance to a golf club headwhen the turf is in a golf mat. In a further embodiment of the presentinvention, the turf 11 can be a playing field such as a football field,and the slick surface helps avoid a player from twisting an ankle, whichwould more easily occur if the turf has a high coefficient of friction.The dimensions of the stitch spacing S and row spacing R, are preferablyselected along with the design of the pre-stressed shape of the fiber16, so that lateral excursions of a fiber 16 from one passage 18 overlapthe excursions of a fiber 16 from an adjacent passage 18. In this way,in one embodiment an effective mesh of fiber 16 is formed to hold a golftee. The density of fibers and fiber overlap can also can be configuredso as to resemble natural turf.

FIG. 3 is provided to illustrate the tension applied to the fibers 14and 16 during the process of sewing. The initial ends 32 of the fibers14 and 16 are secured during the process. The needle 34 is insertedthrough the backing 12, taking both fibers 14 and 16 through a commonpassage 18. A hook 36 grabs the loop of fibers and keeps the fibers fromretracting back through the passage 18 as the needle 34 is retracted.The sewing machinery then inserts the needle 34 through the backingagain at a stitch space “S” (FIG. 1B) from the first space 18 and thehook 36 grabs the material again. A cutting tool (not shown) followsalong or is integrated with the hook apparatus 36 and cuts the loop ends38, at which time the tension on the cut fiber 16 is released and thefiber 16 returns to its curlicued/non-linear state as shown in FIG. 1B.

In one embodiment, the fibers 14 are constructed of polyethylene, andextend upward from the backing a distance H₁ of approximately ⅞ inches.The retracted, rest state curlicued fibers 16 extend upward from thebacking a distance H₂ of approximately ⅝ inches. Other dimensions arealso included in the spirit of the present invention, as will beapparent to those skilled in the art. In general, the height H₂ of thecurlicued fiber 16 must be shorter than the height of the relativelystraight fiber 14.

As described above, the straight fiber 14 may be constructed frompolyethylene, which provides a slippery surface similar to grass. Othermaterials that simulate the grass-like property of lowresistance/friction are also included in the spirit of the presentinvention. The nylon fiber 16 is selected to be resilient. Othermaterials for fiber 16 are also included in the spirit of the presentinvention.

The grass-like fibers 14 can be constructed in a variety of ways thatwill be apparent to those skilled in the art for use in the turf/mat ofthe present invention, and the present invention includes the use ofthese constructions in the turf structure as described in reference tothe figures of the present disclosure. FIG. 4A illustrates theconstruction of one type of grass-like structure for use as anartificial grass blade. A length of polyethylene or other material ofwidth “W” is sliced through in places 40 as indicated. The material isthen rolled up, or pre-stressed to automatically roll up, as indicatedin FIG. 4B, and when sewn into an artificial turf “backing”, itresembles a blade of grass.

While the present invention has been described herein with reference toparticular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modifications, variouschanges and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure, andit will be appreciated that in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of other featureswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. An artificial turf mat comprising: (a) a matbacking suitable for receiving fiber tufts; and (b) a plurality ofgroups of fibers, wherein each group includes (i) at least one resilientfirst fiber pre-stressed to have a curlicued shape when not undertension, and (ii) at least one second fiber shaped to resemble a grassblade, wherein the first and second fibers are tufted through a commonpath through the backing, and extend upward from the backing to a cutend, wherein the first fibers extend upward from the backing a firstheight and the second fibers extend upward from the backing a secondheight greater than said first height, and wherein the second height isin the range of about ⅞ inch to about 3 inches and the first height isin the range of about ⅝ inch to about 2½ inches.
 17. The turf mat ofclaim 16, wherein the curlicued first fibers of a first group extendlaterally to overlap a range of curlicued first fibers of a secondgroup, so as to form a mesh of overlapping fibers.
 18. The turf mat ofclaim 17, wherein the groups of fibers are in rows separated bydistances in the range of about 0.350 inch to 0.375 inch.
 19. The turfmat of claim 16 wherein the first fibers are made from nylon.
 20. Theturf mat of claim 16 wherein the second fibers are made frompolyethylene.